The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

CAMPUS
A mute witness to season of neglect
Gaurav Choudhury
Tribune News Service

THE legacy of Swami Vivekananda, one of India’s greatest saints and philosophers, seems to be fast fading into oblivion, or so it seems in the Delhi University here. The Vivekananda statue erected at the center of the roundabout overlooking the Central Reference Library (CRL) and the Convocation Hall in the Faculty of Arts in the north campus, today stands slighted, by students and authorities alike. Old-timers of the university say that the statue was erected to remind passers-by about the richness of Vivekananda’s teachings. “ The statue was erected to stand tall and preach. That does not seem to be the case now”, a retired teacher of the University said.

Paying scant respect to the thinker, the pedestal, on which the statue stands, is plastered with bills and slogans, perhaps a manifestation of the disrespect shown by the current breed of students to the man and his teachings.

Ironically, most of the slogans are related to current war against terror waged by the US against the Taliban and, in this context, nothing could have been more relevant than Vivekanda’s teachings.

Further down, right at the centre of the lawn within the Faculty of Arts lies a bronze replica of Louis Braille – the man behind the revolutionary Braille movement for the visually handicapped. However, the black surface of the statue today is smeared with dirty shades of white – thanks to the careless attitude of the authorities that do not care to fix the responsibility for the statue’s proper upkeep. Even as birds perch and defecate, everybody turns a blind eye to the statue of a man remembered for his magnificent gift to the blind.

Paving way for the fair sex

Fielding women candidates in student union polls appears to be the trend these days. During the recently concluded elections of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU), the major parties – the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) – fielded ladies for the top post. This trend appears to be catching up in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), located in another corner of the city.

JNU is a standalone university and, unlike DU, no colleges are affiliated to the varsity.

Result: Whereas in DU students of all affiliated colleges are eligible for voting in the polls, the number of voters in JNU is significantly lower. The poll equations are, therefore, very precariously balanced in JNU and even a single vote can make all the difference.

JNU, the stronghold of leftist student politics, is likely to witness a battle among the ladies in the students union poll. The Students Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Association (AISA) – parties owing allegiance to the Left – are both fielding women candidates for the polls. While SFI is nominating Albeena Shakeel, AISA is fielding Manisha Sethi for the President’s post.

Students in festival mode

It is festival time again on the campus and, as is the case every year, Oasis, the annual festival of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, pushed DU students into the festival mode. Like every year, scores of students from various colleges in Delhi set foot in the sleepy desert city and virtually painted the town red with scintillating performances.

Hindu College, represented by Sanjay Krishnan, Siddharth Singh and Saurabh Rao, bagged the titles in two of the three quiz shows – Oasis General Quiz and the Literary Quiz. Sanjay Krishnan, defending champion last year in the Mastermind individual quiz, came second this time. Lady Shriram College of Delhi won the honours in choreography and street plays. All in all, as one student said, “ everybody had a ball of a time”.

Hindi musical

The Delhi University Researchers’ Association (DURA) on Wednesday organised a musical Hindi play titled “Kyon Kabira Roya”.

Held at the Shankar Lal Concert Hall on the campus, the play was held for “cultural, religious and social harmony”. Vice Chancellor Prof Deepak Nayyar was the Chief Guest on the occasion while Dean, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Prof Sunita Dhar, was the guest of honour .

Olympic Week in Delhi

Delhi Olympic Week is being held on the Delhi University campus in which more than five thousand sports persons are participating. The competitions have acquired further importance as the Delhi contingent for the forthcoming National Games, to be held in Punjab, will be selected on the basis of performance in the Olympic Week competitions. The Delhi Olympic Association was forced to opt for the University Campus after failing to get permission to use the stadiums under the control of the Sports Authority of India. But it’s a blessing in disguise for the University students as they are able to witness top notch competitions in 28 disciplines free of cost.

Govt fiddles as students pay the price
Nalini Ranjan

New Delhi, October 31
A diktat of the education department of the Delhi Government to shift the Geeta Colony-based Ambedkar College to a newly constructed building has put its more than thousand students in deep trouble.

This college had been running for years in the Geeta Colony-based building, but an announcement was made by the education department shift this college into newly constructed building on Wazirabad Road in a notification on October 3 in a leading newspaper.

Incidentally, the college was closed right from October 1 to October 15. After the vacation, when students came into the newly constructed building, the scene was chaotic. Furniture were spread all round. To cap it all, there was only one toilet for both the boys and the girls.

Seeing the condition of the classrooms, the students got agitated and boycott the classes. They have continued to do so to date. Its principal Dr P.C. Patanjali is on leave till November 4. It will take two to three months to turn this newly constructed building into a properly maintained college. College president Pranshu Gupta says, “We don’t understand that when the building was not complete, then why the decision was taken to shift the college. It is totally a political ploy at the cost of our future.”